The last of the Amazon

We spent the night at the lodge on the Gamboa. It was so quiet and the stars were so very bright. It was a beautiful, peaceful place to be. We hung out in hammocks and then slept under our mosquito nets.

We woke up early to go see the sunrise over the Amazon river. It was so beautiful. We saw dolphins playing in the water and heard the birds waking to eat. Again, the peace overwhelmed me.

We then ate breakfast and wandered around the lodge area. I saw this amazing tree that was full of huge caterpillars and their cocoons. The tree was amazing!!

We went swimming in the river down from the lodge. The water was black!! I was pretty scared and very nervous so stayed close to the banks! The river bottom was squishy with mud and river grass. It was a short swim – but I felt that I had to do it!!

We then got back in the boat to go to a drop off place up river where we were going to hike to an outpost on the native Ticuna lands called Piranha Lake. This is a reserve on the private lands of the indigenous people and it is the only building for commercial use of it’s kind on this reserve. We are excited to be staying there. It is a three hour or so hike from the banks of the Amazon to the ‘lodge’. It is sooooo hot and there are so many mosquitos on the way. We have been told to be prepared with lots of bug spray and our long sleeved shirts and long pants.

We got there and we were so very miserable. I was drenched in sweat and covered with mosquitos. They kept buzzing in our ears reminding us that they were there waiting to bite us! I have decided that I NEVER want to be an Amazon explorer – there is another career to mark off my list!

When we arrived at the building it was peaceful looking – It was open air as the Ticuna houses are. There was a closed sleeping area with hammocks with mosquito nets. There was a little building apart for using the toilet and a water tank for flushing. The outside was gorgeous – there was a walkway to the lake. It was one of the most beautiful places I have been. We made it!

We spent the night there and went on a night walk where we saw scorpions and tarantulas and some night rodents. We even got to see a snake!

Then we had the long walk back to the river drop off place and took the boat back to Santa Rosa and Leticia.

I had an amazing time and can’t wait to come back again. As miserable as I was, I do want to return and see all of this again. The peacefulness of the Amazon trumps the misery of the mosquitos and the heat!

I love this place!!!

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Published by myyearinbogotacolombia

I moved to Bogota, Colombia to teach English for 8 months. I was looking for something new to do as it was harder than I thought it would be to find a new job after selling my food truck and being out of the industry for three years. So, I thought 'what the heck?' and decided to embark on a new adventure.
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